Fundraising to Repay Money Spent by UK to Buy the Parthenon Marbles

A fundraising initiative for the Parthenon Marbles was launched to raise £35,000 ($43 K) to symbolically repay the UK Parliament for the money it paid Lord Elgin to buy the Marbles.

The symbolic initiative by the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles was launched on the 202nd anniversary of the Greek War of Independence on Saturday.

In a press release, the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles says that over two hundred years ago Lord Elgin wrenched a number of exquisitely carved figures and friezes from the Parthenon, causing severe damage to the already damaged monument.

“He shipped this portion of the Parthenon Marbles to the UK aiming to use them to decorate his ancestral house in Scotland. However, he soon became bankrupt and was obliged to sell the Marbles to the British Parliament, who at the time paid £35,000 to save them, and place them in the care of the British Museum.”

Greece has called for the return of the Parthenon Marbles

Since Greece’s declaration of independence in 1821 the Greek state has called for the return of the Parthenon Marbles, so that they can be reunified with their other halves and experienced as one connected work of art, the Committee says.

The case has been further strengthened since the opening of the modern Acropolis museum, built especially within viewing distance of the building from which the Marbles were taken, it adds.

“The Marbles have done their job here in the UK and now, for the very first time, the British Museum are engaged in talks with the Greek government about an agreement regarding their future. The Museum’s Chair George Osborne, is open to finding an agreement, but for this to happen we need the support of the present Secretary of State for Culture, Lucy Frazer MP KC,” the press release notes.

“Just as the Greek authorities have committed for the past 23 years to fill the British Museum with yet more marvelous Greek antiquities should the Marbles finally be reunified, so this initiative aims to show Ms Frazer that we value the role played by the British Parliament in preserving these peerless works of art,” it adds.

“That’s why the Greek community and the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles is seeking to raise this £35,000. We want the British government to support the British Museum to do the right thing. Symbolically repaying an old debt to the British Parliament is an important step to securing this support.

“Once we’ve hit our target we will offer the sum, in cash and publicly, to the Secretary of State for Culture. Should the Secretary of State refuse this generosity, the funds will be donated to the British Museum in the same spirit of goodwill. If by our deadline we have not reached our target, all donors will have the option of a full refund or to donate their pledge to the continuing campaign,” the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles says.

Earlier in March, UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed to protect the Parthenon Marbles from being sent back to Greece, saying they remain a “huge asset” to the UK.